In the final Android Wear 2.0 Developer Preview that was just released, Google is preparing the wearable OS for its stable release in early February. This is preview 5 and it includes iOS support, along with NFC Host Card Emulation to prepare it for users to make payments with NFC.

By adding iOS support, developers have gained the ability to distribute apps to iPhone-paired watches, since as you know, Wear 2.0 has its own Play Store. For those who were previously curious as to why Android Wear needed its own store, this is probably reason #1. Previously, the Android Wear experience on iOS devices was mostly limited, but this opens it all up, as long as Wear app developers flag their apps as “standalone.”

With NFC Host Card Emulation (HCE), Google has laid the foundation for wearable payments on Android Wear. HCE is Google’s work-around for the secure elements required by some operators for mobile payments over NFC. HCE emulates a secure element, in a way, providing almost anyone with an NFC-enabled device the power to perform a secure transaction.

The preview is out right now for those with a Huawei Watch or LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition. If interested in flashing the newest preview 5, you can find the files and instructions right here.

I am really hoping this is how it ends up working, but even then, I’d be stuck with stock, because of Pokemon GO…

V2THE1

I think they should learn how to do what Samsung did so you can pay at any terminal with a magnetic strip reader. I see more and more small business using square readers now a days not to mention all of the old terminals.

PerhapsNever

Samsung bought the company that created the MST technology. It’s not a matter of learning, it’s patented technology.

Pitahson

Hopefully android pay works on the watch even with unlocked bootloader and root on the phone

Scofabear

inB4 will Sony SW3 get 2.0 and android pay?

Johnny Hernandez

My OG Moto 360 is still going strong. I suspect that I will need a replacement this year.

Miguel

Mine die, battery wouldn’t last a lick, I tried resetting the sucker but no luck.

Same here, NFC payment is the only thing that has me particularly enticed by the idea of a new one, but I’m probably going to wait a bit and buy used/refurb this time, I love my 360, but I don’t know if it was worth the 300 I paid for it.

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